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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25944568">fish out of water</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardspaceturtle/pseuds/awkwardspaceturtle'>awkwardspaceturtle</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Drabble, Fantasy, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Sheith69min</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:48:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,150</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25944568</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardspaceturtle/pseuds/awkwardspaceturtle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>It started a cliché - he caught a glass bottle instead of live fish.</i>
</p><p>  <i>Except in the bottle there was a man.</i></p><p>  <i>Now the man was out of the bottle.</i></p><p> </p><p> <br/>For the Sheith69min prompt: fishing</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith/Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>fish out of water</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>a thread fic on my <a href="https://twitter.com/januarysunrise/status/1295017961330106368"> twitter</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fishing will relax the soul, they said.</p><p>Fishing will help clear his head, they said.</p><p>Yet now, staring at his full naked man of a catch, Keith swears fishing just achieved the opposite. His head is definitely spinning.</p><p>Nothing in the entire universe could explain what had just transpired on this secluded fishing spot his dad used to take him to when he was younger. No, this defied reality and every law of physics or biology and spit in the face of anything science.</p><p>It started a cliché - he caught a glass bottle instead of live fish.</p><p>Except in the bottle there was a man.</p><p>Now the man was out of the bottle.</p><p>Keith raised his water tumbler to his lips and squeezed his eyes shut. Must be the heat and dehydration playing with his senses. He had been here all afternoon, maybe he had dozed off and this was a silly fever dream conjured by the traitorous part of his brain that supposedly kept his desires at bay. After letting out a shaky breath, he slowly peeled his eyes open.</p><p>The man was still there, very big, and very naked.</p><p>His lips parted into a smile, the biggest smile Keith had ever been graced with.</p><p>"I'm so glad to finally meet you, Keith."</p><p>"Who the <em>fuck</em> are you?" Keith greeted him back all warm and friendly. He held his fishing pole between them as one would weild a sword. The man took a step forward, and the edge of the fishing pole poked one firm pec. Keith felt his knees go wobbly.</p><p>"I understand this may be confusing," the man said slowly in an effort to comfort him.</p><p>"Yeah, it's quite rare to get an adult man after dropping a glass bottle in surprise," Keith said, sweating. "No, let me correct that. Try <em>never</em>."</p><p>"I know you have a lot of questions, Keith--"</p><p>"How do you know my name? Where are your clothes? Are you an exhibitionist? Why in hell were you in a bottle??" The torrent of mysteries came out as if on cue. "...Is this a dream?"</p><p>In a response that frankly confused Keith all the more, the man's answer came not in words, but in a fond, almost nostalgic look. He looked like he knew Keith, somehow. Keith usually felt stabby around people, but this man strangely had the effect to tame that part of him.</p><p>"Do you remember that tiny fish you freed from being entangled in some hydrillia back when you were younger?" He asked gently as if to not scare Keith. Keith would have sassed anyone for answering a question with another question, but the look on the man's face invited no verbal hostility. If anything, Keith found himself bound to his words, his voice a soothing balm to the afternoon heat.</p><p>"I had a bad fin, and was having a hard time swimming away." The man continued, gesturing to where an arm would have been.</p><p>"Then you were there. You saved me."</p><p>Keith watched him, the furrow between his eyebrows gradually disappearing. Faintly, a memory creeped into his mind, getting clearer than murky waters with each second. He remembered feeling rather proud of himself for untangling the small fish. His dad had been happy about it, too.</p><p>"I couldn't forget you after that. I don't know why or how, but I started to recognize you every time you returned." The man's gaze seemed far away, lost in his own memories. Then just as quickly, a shadow passed over his features and left in his eyes pained, glassy look. "Then after your dad died, you came here alone, crying. I remember feeling very sad seeing you hurt. I've never had anything to be sad about before."</p><p>Keith's shoulders sagged, and he lowered his arms, letting the tip of the fishing pole hit the ground. They stood silently facing each other, a weighted silence rooting them to the spot. </p><p>"That was when you made a wish. You found that bottle, and you made a wish."</p><p>"I wished for someone to stay with me..." Keith muttered, loud enough only for them to hear. A spark of realization, albeit tinged still with a hint of confusion, passed over his eyes as he shared another meaningful look with the stranger.</p><p>"I'm sorry it took me this long," the man said sheepishly as he lightly scratched his cheek. He seemed happy that Keith remembered the wish he made that day.</p><p>"The Lady of the Lake has her own rules for us fish folk," he glanced at Keith, a rosy tint painting his cheeks, "But I finally made a way to reach you. I made my own wish, too."</p><p>Keith continued to stare at him, but this time, to <em>really</em> look at him without the cloud of suspicion fogging his judgement. None of it made sense. None of it seemed true. And yet the man looked at him earnestly, conveying no dangerous or deceptive intent at all.</p><p>"What did <em>you</em> wish for?"</p><p>Without missing a beat, the man replied, "To fulfil yours."</p><p>Keith felt all the air in his lungs just got knocked out of him. That felt like a line straight out of a cheesy cliché romance fantasy that he would burn his eyes first before reading. And yet his chest stammered with the protest of holding onto this romance and keeping it. He stared dumbfoundly, because here he thought he had lost the need to dab color into the grey palette of his life.</p><p>"I understand that was a lot to take in," the man continued, taking Keith's silence for disbelief. "And I won't force you to accept it right away. I'll happily return to the water. Having met you as a human is enough for me." He kept his voice level, yet his eyes were downcast.</p><p>"You'll turn back to a fish again?"</p><p>The man held a pensive look, considering his words carefully. "...The rules say we only have one chance, making a wish as big as this."</p><p>Keith closed his eyes again in deep thought, his free hand flying up to run his fingers through his hair. God, the heat must be really frying his brain.</p><p>"So my rejection or acceptance will be the final key to seal your wish." </p><p>"Yes, that is correct."</p><p>"Okay." Keith said, releasing a breath. He had a feeling that either way his life was going to drastically change after this encounter.</p><p>"One last question. What's your name?"</p><p>It seemed like it was Keith's turn to surprise him. The man blushed all the way to his ears and down his neck.</p><p>"You can call me Shiro."</p><p>"Alright," Keith began, his own cheeks catching the heat of the sun. This may be the craziest thing to ever happen to him. But maybe his life needed crazy. After all, he spent an entire afternoon fishing.</p><p>"It's nice to meet you too, Shiro."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you so much for reading!</p><p>as i was writing this, i realized it had a very similar plot to another <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/15874278/chapters/36985233"> sheith69min fic</a> i did around a couple of years ago... *scratches head* but this was so fun to write! also made starting a Monday quite interesting. hope you enjoyed this little piece!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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